Once Seren had finished removing as much of the toxin from the spider queen as she could, she gave De Koninck clearance to move about which the Norn did immediately. “Bear’s back!” De Koninck exclaimed …

We asura don’t tend to give much thought to the history of the other Tyrian races. We’ve always been something of a breed apart, secure in our own superiority, and our research is ever looking to the future, not the past. As a result, I’d never given much thought to the Searing, either the events that had precipitated it or the magic itself. It was a strange and distant phenomenon, far away both in time and location, nothing I would ever have to consider in any depth.

Until today.

The sky still rippled with light, colours that would have been glorious under other circumstances. The winds that whipped around the gorge were almost enough to floor me every time I dared leave the protective shelter of the rocky walls, whilst the crystals that rained from the sky were enough to ensure I didn’t go far.

Yet in the middle of it all, staggering through the maelstrom, was Blaise.

The carts were packed by noon. It was then that we said our final goodbyes to our broken and mossy camp. The sun lazed in the sky with the clouds and the sounds of nature had awoken into the day. We put the blankets on top of the overhead rails of the cart to block out some of the sunlight. our groups were still divided in the same way that we had arrived. In our cart was Tobih, Ragnvaldr, Angel, and I. The rest were in the cart pulled by Kau.

I was leaned against Ragnvaldr’s shoulder, dozing off again in the shade. Tobih was sitting with one leg crossed on the other, his arms folded and his eyes closed, obviously also dozing a bit. Ragnvaldr was going through his arrows, repairing the ones that didn’t look perfect enough to him. Every so often I could hear the clink of an arrow dropped down onto the wooden bench beside him.Read the rest of this entry »

The room was dark and musty, but that’s the way Jerem liked it. He flipped through old books, making meticulous notes of the symbols and arcana held within. After a few hours his eyes protested the candlelight, forcing him out into the main room of the house. He exited the dark room and turned, sliding a large hidebound book out of its place. The bookcase swung closed, hiding the door behind from sight.

“The papers were signed,” Jayden said. The taller man had entered his office without permission and was sprawled on an antique divan. He had a glass of whiskey in his hand, and his gold pocketwatch in the other.

“The Inquest is on board then?” Jerem asked, sitting stiff-backed in the large armchair before the fireplace.

I lay in the cold mud beneath the warehouse for nearly an hour after I could no longer hear the Lionguard searching before daring to move, and when I did I crawled on my belly, trying my best not to think of how disgusting I must look. I slithered through the muck, frequently reaching above to make sure I was still in cover and keeping the sound of the lapping water on my right. My back ached, and I suspected I had landed in broken glass, and it burned in the salt water that seeped into my clothes. It was worse on my arms, which bloodied themselves as I crawled blindly through the filth. Finally, when I no longer felt the wood above me, I rolled into the surf, washing off as much of the mud as possible before stumbling clumsily out of the water, one hand held in front of me, groping in the darkness to keep myself from walking headlong into a wall or tree.

I made the journey up the shore to the piers of Macha’s Landing without stumbling more than a few times, and to my relief there were people there. People with eyes I could use. I tried not to pay attention to how bedraggled I appeared, all dressed in black, sopping wet with muddy water and wearing dirty, cracked glasses.

My body remained still and lifeless, resting on the surface of this ghost infested undercroft, feeling the cold stone underneath. Faint echoes could be heard in the distance, but I couldn’t make out the words, I could feel my body moving however, or being moved more like it. Faint wisps of energy were traveling within my body, traveling back and forth, doing their best from keeping me from dying, trying to restore the flow. Suddenly I felt a stab of pain in my chest, a minute transfer of energy, and the flow returned. Blood began reallocate itself, being sent back into my arteries by an invisible force, increasing the pressure, my senses returning.

I could hear the hollow wind blowing through the crypt, I could feel a set of hands holding me closely and I could hear Garfas whispering something to me.

“Please be alright, please be alright…”

My eyes shot open and I gasped for air. Garfas jumped as he held me. I scrambled about, trying to find where I was. Still in the crypt, with all the dead Flame Legion grunts, I could see a few in the distance approach. I glanced up as I realized that Garfas still held onto me. His amber yellow eyes wet with mine, he looked at me in disbelief.